The fastest way to investment failure is listening to the siren song of the financial markets to "do something." Here are four strategies to help you tune out the noise and stick to your plan. Interest rates might rise. ISIS may strike again. US stocks are overvalued. The US dollar is too strong. Economic growth is too slow...this constant barrage of news is designed to make you act - to do … [Read more...]
Four Reasons to Own REITs
REITs (and REIT index funds in particular) are a good diversifier of performance within an index portfolio. Here are four reasons why adding a "separate slice" to REITs might be a good idea. Real estate investment trusts (REITs) are companies that own and normally operate real estate properties that generate income from leases and financing of property purchases. If you already own a U.S. … [Read more...]
Vanguard Changes Index Benchmarks
Vanguard announced in June 2015 it was planning changes to its benchmarks for foreign index stock market funds. Those changes start now and it is good news for investors. The News Vanguard announced on November 1, 2015 that its Emerging Markets Fund (VEMAX/VEIEX/VWO) will now start to transition to a new tracking index over a 12-month period. The change will be to an index that covers a larger … [Read more...]
How to Manage and Rebalance Multiple Accounts
It is easy to accumulate multiple investment accounts. While it may not always be practical to consolidate them, there are effective strategies to simplify their management and track your asset allocation. It is not dangerous to use just one firm for all accounts, as long as it is reputable mutual fund firm using a third party custodian. Here is a pretty realistic breakdown of investment account … [Read more...]
Are You Content With Your Stock Exposure?
Coping with volatile stock markets means having stock exposure that is tailored to your individual risk tolerance. When set correctly, you will not lose sleep when there is a correction...like the one happening now. Don't do something, just stand there. - John Bogle If you have to do something, re-assess your risk tolerance. - NoRobo Guy As I write this, the stock market is down … [Read more...]
Why I Said “No” to Peer-to-Peer Lending
Recently, investors in my state ((Lendingmemo.com lists the current availability for each state)) became eligible to invest in peer-to-peer lending at Lending Club, so I decided to investigate whether it was worth pursuing. If you are considering this as an investment, please read this post and other reviews first. I will link other reviews at the end of the post. Most of this post is from … [Read more...]